After months of tedious preparations, on the 17th of April, the moment the world has been waiting for finally arrives. As its own success threatens to drive mankind to extinction, the Amsterdam RAI is the scene of a conference where four organizations present their separate views on a collective future.
Passing a somewhat lengthy but sound security check, visitors enter the conference halls where AA, CTF , TIGI and 3MS educate them on the future of their race. At the Imperial Greenhouse Association (TIGI) area, Titan – one of Fusion’s new prodigies – wastes no time getting started. An energetic set building up from early hardstyle to a live hotcue edit of last year’s In Qontrol anthem, ‘Ctrl.Alt.Delete’, sets TIGI’s atmosphere for the rest of the night. As the Psyko Punks take over there, the Third Millennium Society (3MS) slowly but surely comes to life with a hardtrance set by Fausto & Artento Divini. Meanwhile, D-Passion is already putting the pedal to the metal for the Chaos Theory Foundation (CTF), although unfortunately the sound system is not yet willing to display his deliciously distorted sounds at full volume.
With the conference picking up pace, the first hungry visitors flock at the conveniently located food and merchandise stands mainly located in the middle of the CTF, TIGI and 3MS areas. Fast service ensures no one has to miss out on anything more than strictly necessary.
As faith would have it, Mother Earth itself decided to throw up a massive ash cloud, preventing the Malaysian Bass Agents from showing up for the third hour of TIGI. Alphaverb, however, does a great job replacing them. Not only does he dig up D-Block & S-Te-Fan’s great classic ‘Keep it Coming’ as a set opener, he even manages to conjure up a new edit of his own, all but forgotten track ‘Still Here’.
While the Apocalypse Association (AA) heralds in a new era with Dune, Dailucia is next to perform at TIGI. Her set, however, seems to lack some drive after the rush the previous DJs brought, causing part of the fans to wander off to the 3MS area. Here, they run into another female DJ. Stephanie drops an enthusiastic set featuring large amounts of reverse bass, Italian dancefloor smashers and even herself dancing on the DJ booth.
The Italian mare’s set ends all too quickly, but fortunately Slim Shore arrives at TIGI to present his own unique view on hardstyle. Lots of original vocals to warm up the crowd, only to finish off with his latest production ‘Siren’: an energetic intro building up to complete hoover insanity. Though clearly, not everyone likes his style, Slim Shore makes his mark once again.
Even as the night progresses and tired punters look for rest and relief, there are no major incidents at any of the food stands or sanitary facilities. Apart from some clogged tap drains, everything is running smoothly at the toilets and the chillout area, though full, is not packed. But then again, who wants to chill out with Frontliner, Beat Providers, DJ Mad Dog and Sequence & Ominous taking their respective stages?
It seems A2 Records’ young talents, Beat Providers, have a statement to make. They start their liveset out hard and fast and build it up from there. Being as new in the scene as they are, they only have less widely known tracks to perform, but the TIGI followers are eating it all up like sharks, ever hungry for more.
And more is what they get when B-Front & Digital Punk take the helm, relieving Deepack. Recently having spent time in the studio together, these men are tuned in to each other well and play a tightly mixed set. Not only do they unleash a host of new tracks, they also achieve another classic glory moment with Zany & Beholder’s ‘Midnight’.
Frontliner, in the meantime, takes the Third Millennium Society to new heights with the In Qontrol anthem, his recent collabs with B-Front, and his own new masterpiece, ‘On the Rise’. He too injects the necessary classic influences with Overload - ‘The Anthem’ (Vortex vs. Zatox Remix) and Lowriders - ‘Don’t Get Back’ – fine choices indeed! Unfortunately, technology disagrees about the quality of his productions and the sound system briefly fails a number of times during his set. Even so, he seems to sort the same effect on 3MS as Beat Providers did on TIGI.
At the TIGI area, Alpha Twins take over with what is arguably the night’s best set opener: the intro to Ivan Carsten – ‘You Try to Play Me’ followed by Tat & Zat – ‘Proud to be Loud’. Never letting go of the throttle, they drop Ran-D’s ‘Feel My Fire’ for the fourth time this night but the rolling kicks still get the crowd going. Even as the plastic bubble over the stages deflates and comes down on their heads, they are not discouraged. With a little help from MC Villain and the Q crew they’re free to unleash their own remix of the Noisecontrollers’ epic masterpiece, ‘Yellow Minute’, upon the public. And they are not through with the TIGI fans yet, smashing their set to an end with another one of Ran-D’s magnificent productions. ‘Under Attack’, a collaboration with Adaro, with its aggressive atmosphere and vocals, is one of those tracks that can squeeze the last bit of energy out of a tired punter.
As the conference draws to an end, the Noisecontrollers themselves have the honour of closing the 3MS area. Starting their set with lots of new materials and subtle edits, they manage to persuade the crowd to give it their all once more. Then, half an hour into the set, they decide things are not going fast enough and throw in DBSTF’s Noisecontrollers diss. Of course the track is recognized from Knock Out and an enthousiastic chant of “Fuck, fuck, fuck the noise, fuck the Noisecontrollers!” ensues.
With the Noisecontrollers now playing mainstream hardcore, a final tour of the CTF and TIGI areas unveils some slight mishaps. Apparently, both are struck with a case of radical decrease in sound volume as the first rays of sunlight seep in through the RAI’s window roofs. Even though Hellfish is smashing up CTF with a brutal UK hardcore set, people are no longer moving. Crypsis, at TIGI, is making his last stand with his monitors directed towards the dwindling crowd, but they do not deliver enough bass to round up TIGI properly either.
At 3MS, though the occasional failures we remember from Frontliner occur again, the Noisecontrollers are still operating on full power and carry the conference on to 7:15. MC DV8, The Third Millennium Society’s host, calls on the people’s enthusiasm one last time and manages to get most of them to squat down during the break of Tha Playah – ‘Walking the Line’. As the kick comes in, the VIP deck gives a wonderful view of thousands of people jumping up simultaneously, ceremonially saying goodbye to an impressive night.
Though there were some minor imperfections, the four organizations got their messages through. With flawless logistics and some impressive sets, In Qontrol has fulfilled the world’s expectations as an event of global importance. Now, the most important question is up to you… Will you save, or exit?
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